Based at the revered American Kickboxing Academy, Fitch nearly
ended Gono’s night with submissions in rounds one and two, first
with a rear-naked choke and then with an armbar. That was a minor
feat in itself, as the crafty Gono (29-14-7) has not raised the
white flag in a fight in more than 12 years.

When Fitch was not stifling and tying Gono in knots on the mat, he
fed him a steady diet of punches, elbows and forearms. The
30-year-old Fort Wayne, Ind. native was particularly impressive in
the third round, when he punished Gono standing and on the ground
from the knee-on-belly position. He left little doubt about the
decision.

The outcome remained in question into the third round, when Tavares
(14-3) rocked his Armenian counterpart with a right hand and hearty
knee. Sensing he was hurdling towards a second consecutive defeat,
Gamburyan grew desperate as precious seconds ticked away, swinging
and missing wildly at his elusive target. His efforts proved
fruitless.

The 27-year-old Gamburyan has not cracked the win column in almost
a year. The judo black belt pressured Tavares with kimuras in the
first and second round but slowly lost his foothold in the match.
The victory snapped a two-fight losing streak for Tavares.

File Photo

John Howard shocked Chris
Wilson at UFC 94.

Elsewhere, former Ring of Combat champion John Howard
staked his claim to some welterweight division real estate with a
surprising split-decision win against Team Quest veteran Chris
Wilson. The scorecards read 29-28, two of them in Howard’s
favor.

Howard (11-4), who has won four straight, took down Wilson with
ease in each of the three rounds, as he controlled the fight with
superior wrestling and stout strikes. The 25-year-old Boston native
finished strong, as he grounded Wilson multiple times in round
three, threatened him with a rear-naked choke and scored with solid
ground-and-pound.

A one-time Sportfight titleholder, Wilson (14-5, 1 NC) never found
a rhythm, disrupted time and again by the relentless pace Howard
pushed. The 31-year-old spent a majority of the fight on his heels
and back, and his underrated stand-up skills were a non-factor.

In a battle between two former heavyweights making the cut to 205
pounds, Jake
O'Brien used powerful takedowns and smothering top control to
topple the American Kickboxing Academy’s Christian
Wellisch by split decision. All three judges scored the bout
29-28, two of them in O’Brien’s favor.

O’Brien (11-2) broke a two-fight losing streak with the victory,
his first since his upset win against Heath Herring
in January 2007. The 24-year-old former Purdue University wrestler
took down Wellisch at will and had blood flowing from his
opponent’s nose by the time the second round ended.

Wellisch (8-5) has lost back-to-back fights for the first time in
his career. He tagged O’Brien with right hands in the first and
second rounds, but his offensive attack was limited at best.

Finally, rookie Dan Cramer
made the most of his golden opportunity to debut inside the UFC, as
he edged Matt Arroyo
by split decision. Two judges sided with Cramer by matching 29-28
counts; a third scored it 29-28 for Arroyo.

Based out of American Top Team, Cramer (1-0) delivered takedowns in
each of the first two rounds and kept Arroyo out of his comfort
zone. Spawned by season seven of “The Ultimate Fighter,” the
23-year-old Cramer neutralized the Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt’s
submission skills with strikes on the ground.

Round three brought a momentum shift, as Arroyo (3-3) tripped
Cramer to the ground, seized back control and sank both hooks. From
there, he went to work and positioned himself for a rear-naked
choke. Cramer defended well, however, and he escaped to finish the
fight inside Arroyo’s guard.